Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire

This middle elementary level book tells the story of Abraham Lincoln, from infancy through the end of the Civil War. One of the main strengths of the book are definitely the illustrations, done with colored pencil. They are soft and pretty and help to express the story very well. Although they are beautifully done, however, some could be considered offensive (for example the portrayal of black slaves) to some people. Although the story is fun and interesting to read I feel that the authors (who wrote the book in 1940) spent too much time glorifying Abraham Lincoln instead of trying to portray him as a realistic human being.

Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco

This is the story of three children who want to buy an Easter bonnet for their poor nanny to show how much they love her. The children get the idea to ask the hat shopkeeper if they can do extra work around the store to earn the money to pay for the hat. Due to a misunderstanding, the children end up getting blamed by the shopkeeper for egging his store. To make it up to him, the children decorate eggs with wax and dye and give them to the shopkeeper as a peace offering. The children end up making enough money to buy the hat by selling their decorated eggs at the hat store.
This was a touching book, the emotion expressed by the characters (especially the nanny) is very intense yet also deep and believable. Knowing that this is a true story makes it more interesting as well. The book has good messages for young readers, like the importance of showing kindness to strangers. The shopkeeper is a Russian holocaust survivor who is still persecuted by many people in the neighborhood even though the war is over. By showing him kindness the children were able to break through his steely exterior and were treated very kindly by him in return.

Amelia Bedelia's Masterpiece by Herman Parish

This is the story of Amelia Bedelia's day at the art museum. Many adventures and misadventures ensue, and by the end of the story Amelia has captured an art theif, broken several busts, and helped a young boy becom a real artist. This story, like all stories about Amelia Bedelia, involves clever misunderstandings and turns of speech.
Although Amelia's misunderstandings can get old, young readers would probably find them funny and be able to relate to some of them. For example, Amelia finds the term 'priceless' confusing, thinking it means 'worthless'. I remember also being confused by that word when I was younger and also loving Amelia Bedelia books.
The story has a satisfying ending and several good messages. My favorite of the lessons taught in this book is when Amelia lets the art theif go free because he promises to be good, and later she receives an original painting done by him and a note thanking her for the second chance. This teaches readers to have faith in other people and not judge others too harshly because people can change if you believe in them.

Moon Boy by Barbara Brenner

This is a story for beginning readers (lower elementary). It is the story of a 'moon boy' who visits the narrorator's room at night and plays games with him.
One of the merits of this book is that the words are simple to read for beginning readers. There is lots of repetition of certain words and phrases, for example the sentence "the moon was a gold balloon." This story is also fairly imaginitive, the idea of a little moon beam that becomes a boy when it lands on the narrarator's windowsill would probably delight young readers. Although this book was sufficiently interesting it was not my favorite... it felt like nothing really happened in the story and the repetition got sort of annoying. I would still recommend it for beginning readers though because it is good practice.

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

This is the story of a young donkey, Sylvester, who loves to collect interesting pebbles. One day he discovers a shiny red pebble and soon realizes that the pebble has the power to grant any wish of the person holding it. Sylvester ends up wishing he was a rock to escape a hungry lion and becomes stuck like this because he is no longer holding the pebble. The rest of the story is devoted to Sylvester's parents searching for him and a happy ending.
This is a great book for young (early elementary) readers because of both the fun story and the beautiful illustrations. The colors used in the illustrations for flowers, clothing, trees, etc. are very visually appealing and the bright red of the mysterious magic pebble makes the reader spend awhile looking at the pictures instead of just rushing on to the next page. The story is full of suspense, like when Sylvester's parents are having a picnic on Sylvester's back (when he is a rock) without realizing that it's Sylvester. If young readers are anything like me they would be biting their nails dying for Sylvester's parents to realize how close they were to finding their son. Scenes of suspense like this as well as the beautiful pictures make this book a great choice for young readers.

Animorphs: Visser by K.A. Applegate

This book is part of the Animorphs series. This series tells the story of a group of teenagers who have the power to morph into any animal whose DNA they acquire. They were given this special ability to fight off an evil alien race, the Yeerks, who are trying to capture earth and enslave humanity.
The series is intended for upper elementary school to junior high-aged readers. This particular book, Visser, was created by Applegate because, in her own words: "I wanted to address one of the big questions fans regularly pose: How did it all start?" This is not the first book that Applegate wrote for the series but it chronologically contains the first events that occured in the story's timeline.
Visser tells how the evil Yeerk sub-Visser discovered earth's existence and decided to travel to earth to see whether the human population would be sufficient for enslavement by the Yeerks. A discovery of such a people would mean great honor for the Yeerk responsible.
This story is a fun read for anyone who enjoys science fiction. The mentions of Z-space and speed of light time-travel are entertaining if not entirely accurate. Being a former reader of this series I know that the characters are developed very well throughout the series, and for any follower of the series this book would be an exciting read because it exposes secrets about one of the main villains in the series, Visser 1. Although this book is not incredibly well-written or chock-full of useful information it is a fun read and would be a good recommendation for preteens who are struggling to make the transition from television or videogames to more reading.

Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say

In this picture book, Allen Say tells the story of his grandfather's immigration to the United states from Japan. One of the biggest strengths of the book are the beautiful paintings Say uses to illustrate his grandfather's adventures. Another merit of the book is the way Say draws lines between his grandfather's life and his own. Both men grew up in Japan and moved to the United States at a young age. They both experienced nostalgia for their homeland and when they returned to Japan, both also missed their homes in America just as much as they had missed Japan. Because Say can relate to his grandfather's fond feelings for both America and Japan, he can say he truly knew his grandfather.

Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel

This is a classic book for beginning readers. I grew up reading frog and toad and the loving nostalgia I feel for it affirms the book's potential value for new young readers. The book is divided into 5 separate adventures, each with it's own lesson. These lessons include friendship, courage, kindness, responsibility, etc. They are told in sometimes suspenseful, always heartwarming ways and the images that accompany the text are sure to delight and entertain children.
There is an added depth to the simplicity of the dialogue between frog and toad that give the stories timeless significance. For example, in one of the stories, Frog and Toad stand together in Toad's bedroom, looking into the mirror.
"We look brave," said Frog.
"Yes, but are we?" asked Toad.
This is a line I have memorized from when I first reread this book after buying it at a thrift store a couple of years ago. Lines like this highlight the differences between things like appearing a certain way and actually being that way, an important lesson children may learn from this book.

The Biggest, Most Beautiful Christmas Tree by Amye Rosenberg

This is the story of a group of forest animals who decide to decorate their tree so that Santa can find them on Christmas. This is one of my favorite Golden Books from when I was a child. I always loved to look at the colorful pictures of the forest animals decorating their tree. The mention of cookies, tea, hot cocoa, warm firesides, etc. make this a great holiday book for young readers. Although I have to laugh reading some of the cheesy lines in the story now ("the children's eyes sparkled with hope", for example) it is still a fun, creative story for young readers.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

This is an interesting, fun chapter book for a number of reasons. The main character, Charlie, is the perfect underdog who all children can relate to. Relating to Charlie is not hard because every child has experienced the dissapointment of not being a winner or not having something many other children have. Compared to the four other golden ticket winners, Charlie has nothing... but at the same time he has none of the negative personality traits that come from unlimited access to certain pleasures in life (food, wealth, television, free personal conduct).
The story moves quickly and uses suspense in a number of creative ways, from the build-up to Charlie finally unwrapping the winning candy bar to Mr. Wonka's playful yet semi-dire warnings about certain forbidden sections of his factory.
Willy Wonka's chocolate factory contains so many ideal rooms and wonders that any reader would be captivated just imagining them. Seeing the 'naughty' children get into sticky situations in clever ways that relate to their respective sins of overindulgence is entertaining and satisfying to the reader. The Oompa-Loompas provide clever songs, each containing a lesson, and Mr. Wonka is a well-developed yet highly unpredictable character, who's over-the-top enthusiasm and clever word-plays will be sure to keep readers laughing their way to the end of this wonderful book.

Dinosaur Hunter by Elaine Marie Alphin

This is the story of a Wyoming rancher boy, Ned, and his discovery of a Triceratops skeleton on his father's land. One of the merits of this story is that it shows readers that they can achieve their dreams even if they have to complete work that does not always interest them first. Ned's father tells him he cannot search for dinosaur fossils until he is through checking the fences, but while doing this Ned ends up discovering the skeleton and meeting a boy his age who has travelled to Ned's ranch with his father to look for fossils for museums. Another fun part of the story is when Ned tricks another dishonest fossil hunter by showing him cattle bones instead of the skeleton.
This story also teaches readers a little bit about the history of fossil hunting in the late 1800's. The dishonest fossil hunter is Mr. Reed, based on a real fossil hunter from that era.

The Hill of Fire by Thomas P. Lewis

The Hill of Fire tells the story of a mexican farmer who is dissatisfied with his routine-based small town life. One day while plowing the farmer accidentally strikes an underground volcano that eventually errupts and consumes his entire village. All the villagers are forced to relocate and rebuild their town and way of life.
What makes this book worthwhile is that it shows that even though an easy life can get monotonous it is still much better than a tumultuous life. At the end of the story when the village children beg the farmer to unearth another mountain of fire he replies no, "one hill of fire is enough for me".
Another merit of this story is that it is based on a real event, the eruption of Paricutin volcano in the 1940's.